100 days strong - Actions Drive Identity

Today, Wednesday September 2, 2020 marks a 100-day streak for the full stack of daily habits I have diligently worked to take action on.

Below I share my current process. What is yours? What are your suggestions to level up and improve upon my story shared here?

I have taken the time to consider the person I am. In the past, as I shared who I am I had this feeling that my actions sometimes misrepresent that.  In Atomic Habits by James Clear, he challenges to ask yourself, What type of person is ________? (Healthy, Present, a great father, etc.)

As an example, What type of person actually has a growth mindset?  What do they do?  My answer...they consistently expose themselves to new content to create opportunities to learn every day.  What is an Atomic Habit that reinforces that?  To read or listen to a book every day.

Doing that work...writing out my identity, the roles I fulfill (husband, father, leader, etc.) and breaking down representing each into some daily activities that would act as a vote for being the person I am, creates alignment and pride.  With that in place, behavior change is possible because motivation is self-driven.

Once those actions are identified, I stepped through the 4 laws of behavior change to make each action obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying. With my accountability partner, we also worked through how to align our physiology, language, and focus to reinforce the commitment to daily action and connection to who we are.

So what are the actions that came out of all that self-examination?

Morning Ritual:

1. Express Gratitude - review pictures from this day in previous years and send one to my wife with a note.
2. Meditate - I use the Headspace App for guided mindfulness meditation.
3. Listen - 27 books in for 2020 through the end of August.  Every day I learn in-depth about a topic and I carefully curate the books that I go through.
4. Physically engage - move every day
5. Check-in - ask how my kids/wife are feeling to start the day and share our emotions

To prioritize progress over perfection, continually renew, and create awareness takes other intentional actions.

I have been using abstaining from certain behaviors as one method.  What has that meant to the last 100 days?

Abstain:

1. No alcohol, not even one sip
2. No desserts (did this for 30 days)
3. No eating after 7 pm (have been 90% strong)
4. No soda (have been 95% strong)

Other actions have focused on self-care, social relationships, and emotional health. To name a few, they have been dates with my wife, scheduling to see friends, and washing my face every day.

Real behavior change is tough and is rarely successful on the first attempt. I do feel like I have crossed a threshold at 100+ days that I will not stop.